Arkansas regulators announced on Tuesday that they will no longer permit drivers to indicate an “X” for their gender on driver’s licenses. This decision rolls back a previous policy that was inclusive towards nonbinary individuals.
The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration stated that the adjustments are being implemented to “safeguard” state IDs. The agency also announced that transgender people will find it more difficult to change the gender on their ID.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) applauded the news, connecting the ID amendments to contentious conservative culture war issues.
“This policy is simply plain sense. Only women give birth; men should not participate in women’s sports; and there are only two genders,” she declared in a statement. “As long as I’m governor, the Arkansas state government will not endorse nonsense.”
The attempt continues Republican state governments’ efforts to legally require gender as binary, which goes against the prevalent scholarly understanding of gender and, according to detractors, fully erases recognition of transgender and nonbinary people. The alterations also pose issues for intersex people, who exhibit sex features of both or neither gender.
According to a 2021 survey, over 1.2 million Americans identify as nonbinary or transgender. Nonbinary driver license gender labels are legal in 22 states and the District of Columbia, and they are supported on federal IDs such as passports.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas condemned the revisions on Tuesday, claiming that they “threaten the safety and dignity” of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex Arkansans.
“Accurate and consistent identity documents are a fundamental necessity, enabling individuals to travel, secure employment, open bank accounts, and enroll in educational programs,” the organization said in a press release. “For transgender people, in particular, an ID that accurately reflects their true selves is not just a matter of dignity; it is crucial for their safety and well-being.”
“We strongly oppose the Governor and the Department of Finance and Administration’s (DFA) attempt to implement this regressive and damaging policy,” the statement goes on to say. “It is shameful that they have failed to consider the significant impact such measures will have on the lives of many Arkansans.”
According to the DFA, only a small fraction of the state’s active driver licenses and other state IDs, specifically 342 out of over 2.6 million and 174 out of 503,000 respectively, currently use the “X” gender designation. These IDs will remain valid until their expiration date, at which point individuals will be required to select either male or female as their gender for documentation purposes.
